Royal Pain
by Carolovee5
Summary: Its time for what Lissas been waiting for-the queens royal ball, to Rose's dismay. But this trip to the royal court is about to take a turn for the worse. Can the skilled guardians manage to save this party? Well, you'll have to read it now, won't you?
1. Plane Annoying

**A/N Ok, this is the trial run, so please please please tell me if you like it!…or even if you don't! ;) **

**RPOV:**

"Lissaaa..." I whined, flopping onto her oversized bed.

"Roseee..." she mimicked. I ignored her.

"Do I really have to go?" She held up a nice red dress.

"Yes, you do. And Dimitri will be there, so quit whining and try this on." She shoved the dress at me. I threw back my head and groaned. Because although Dimitri was reason enough to be excited, I still had no desire to go back to the Royal Court.

"Lissa, the queen hates me! And it's bad enough Adrian is going! She thinks we're having an affair, and this does nothing to help." I tossed the dress onto the bed, getting up to leave. There was no way in hell I was going to his thing.

"Please rose?" Lissa put her hand on my shoulder and pulled me down. "This is important."

Ok, so it was important. It was absolutely necessary if Lissa wanted her situation for college to go well. Plus we both had to be on good terms with the queen so I could be secured as Lissa's guardian. Which is a problem when the queen thinks you're a delinquent and having an affair with her nephew. In any case, this meant the world to Lissa. So I reconsidered. After all, _They come first_.

"Fine." I huffed, and Lissa hugged me tightly.

"Thank you so much Rose! I'm sorry."

"Yea, yea." I slipped into her bathroom to change. Of course the dress fit perfectly. I had to admit I liked it, mostly because the looser bottom made it more maneuverable. The three inch stilettos, however were a slight disadvantage to my guardian skills. Which was another problem because I had found them while looking for my iPod. Two minutes before we boarded the plane.

"What are these?" I held them up to Lissa. She looked straight ahead.

"You needed dress shoes." I glanced at them with a disgusted look.

"Dress shoes? These mother fuckers are stilts!" I shrieked. Alberta glared at me.

"Rose! There are kids here! Let's keep it PG." I shrugged. So there were a few little dhampirs around. Big deal.

"You say that like its possible." They called our flight then, so I just shook my head and shoved them back in my bag.

"God where are they?" I scanned the crowd for the guys. It was just Lissa, Alberta, and I right now. I saw Dimitri over the sea of heads and smiled.

"Hey little dhampir, glad you could make it." I whipped around to see Adrian leaning against his luggage. Sketchball.

"Just stay out of my way Ivashkov."

"Ok! Do we have everything." Dimitri double checked everything and Christian gave Lissa a quick kiss. I made a gagging noise and he flipped me off. I smirked.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw two people approaching us.

\ "Hey guys! Sorry we're late." I threw my hands in the air.

"Eddie? Mia? How many people are coming to this thing?!"

"Rose, it's the queens ball. It's a pretty huge thing." Dimitri picked up the bags and I glared at Lissa.

"Let's go!" Mia was practically vibrating with excitement. We made our way over to the plane.

"Hey little dhampir. I don't suppose you'd do me the honor of sitting with me?"

"Not a chance. I'd rather stand."

"I'll let you have the window seat?" He tried. I shook my head.

"Did you really think I would say yes?"

"If I got you drunk enough." He smirked, pulling out some vodka.

"Hey! How did you get that through security?!"

"We had to go through security?" He looked puzzled.

"You're a moron." I boarded the plane, sliding into a seat beside Dimitri and Lissa.

"Hello Roza. Ready for the flight?" He laced his fingers through mine. I smiled up at him, leaning on his shoulder.

"Not at all, Comrade. But at least I'm not sitting with -"

"Hey little dhampir!" Adrian popped up right above my head. Oh good God. "No hard feelings. I mean, behind you is good too." He laughed.

I groaned. This was going to be a long flight.

**A/N What did you think? And don't worry, Rose isn't going to have to put up with Adrian for much longer ;) Reviews are nice!**


	2. Plan Pills

The lady took our drink orders and pushed her little cart down the aisle. Behind me, Adrian wouldn't shut up. I groaned again.

Suddenly, I remembered the emergency kit in my bag. Dishing through my stuff, I found what I was looking for.

A bottle of extra strength, fast dissolving sleeping pills. Jackpot.

Lissa was in the isle seat, chatting it up with Christian. I leaned over.

"Hey fire boy, I need your girlfriend for a minute." They both rolled their eyes at me and I smiled.

"What is it Rose?" Lissa turned.

"Make it quick!" Christian snapped. I ignored him.

"I need you to pop a few of these in Adrian's drink." I showed her the sleeping pills. She laughed.

"Couldn't you just wear headphones or something?"

"Nope. Now hurry, she'll be back any minute now." Lissa shook her head, but put the bottle on top of her bag. Adrian was still talking.

A note fell onto my lap. From Eddie and Mia. I opened it.

_Help. Us. _

They had gotten stuck sitting with Adrian. I laughed and scribbled a note back.

_I'm all over it. _

He looked at me and when Adrian turned away, I held up the sleeping pills. Mia covered her mouth and Eddie gave me a thumbs up. I put the bottle back.

"Oh thank god!" Adrian sighed. "Here come the drinks!"

Thank god indeed. I shared a glace with Eddie, Mia, and Lissa. Lissa nodded.

"Already done." She whispered.

"Your so sneaky." I whispered back. She rolled her eyes again.

"Rose." Dimitri leaned in closer to me. "What did you do?"

"Nothing dear." I smiled sweetly. He shook his head. "Trust me Comrade, you will appreciate this."

"Roza…" He glanced back at Adrian, and then his eyes caught on the bottle of pills. He scooped them up.

"Hey! Where'd you get those?" I protested. He shook his head again and shoved them in his carry on.

"Sometimes, Roza, I wonder how you're not expelled." I smiled another sugar-sweet smile as Adrian's speech started to slur.

"Maann, what'sss in thisss drinkk? I don't knooow but itsss goooodd…" He was fading fast. Mia giggled from behind me, and Christian leaned over.

"What did you do Rose?"

"Why does everyone assume its me?!"

"Because it always is." Dimitri pointed out.

"Hey what'r you guyzz talkin 'bout…?" Adrian flopped into the seat. "Whenz thiss stuuupid plane gonaa gooo…? …I'm…gonna…" And then he was out. We all high-fived.

"Oh thank god." Eddie sat back.

"What did you _do_?!" Christian threw his hands up. "I'm so confused."

"She had me put sleeping pills in Adrian's drink." Lissa explained, slipping them out of Dimitri's bag and shaking them.

"Alright, I'm with you guys on _that _one." I grinned and turned to Dimitri.

"I suppose I could let this one slide…" He glanced back to Adrian and mumbled. "He just doesn't know how to shut up."

"There we go, now that wasn't so hard was it?" He squeezed my hand, and I rested my head on his shoulder again.

"Belikov!" We both jumped.

"Alberta?"

"Why do I suddenly not hear Adrian? We have to keep tabs on him." I looked at Dimitri, and he sighed.

"Adrian fell asleep a minute ago."

"Hmm, well that was fast."

"Yes it was."

"Lucky for us!" I piped in. Alberta glared at me.

"You, Miss Hathaway, must be on your best behavior."

"Please take you seat ma'am, we're ready for take off." The stewardess ushered her back to her seat. As soon as she left we all laughed.

"I love you Comrade." I gave him my man-eating smile, and he just smiled back.

"Best behavior, my Roza. Best behavior."

"I have no best behavior." I kissed his cheek and he smiled my favorite smile.

"Rose!" Alberta called from her seat.

"Yea!"

"Just thought you'd like to know - if you don't behave, you're sitting up here with me and Stan!" I froze, slowly peeking over the seat. No. Freaking. Way.

"Hello Rose." Stan gave me an evil looking smirk. I sat back down.

"Maybe I could make a best behavior. Just this once." Dimitri laughed.

"I think that would be a good idea."

**A/N Hope you liked it! Questions? Comments? Reviews keep Rose right where she is. =D**


	3. Royal Pain

**A/N Ok so I got a review from ****Camilla ****asking what phase Dimitri and Rose's relationship was in, so I figured I'd clear that up. They **_**are**_** together, people **_**do **_**know about them, but they try to keep it pretty low key. And for most of the other adults, it's kind of faded into the background and forgotten.**

**Hope that helps! By the way, this is the main part of the ball! Enjoy!**

**RPOV: **

I ended up staying in my seat, thank god. Mostly because Stan didn't want me near him. Smart move.

I dosed in and out and soon we were in Pennsylvania. Adrian started groaning from behind me, and I twisted around in my seat.

"Good morning sleeping beauty."

"Has the plane taken off yet?" I rolled my eyes.

"We're already here idiot."

"Oh! When did I fall asleep?"

"Pretty quickly." Eddie snickered. Dimitri jut shook his head.

"Lets go everyone!" Stan snapped. Grumpy much? I turned to Eddie.

"I can't believe Stan's chaperoning!" I whispered. " It's like a nightmare come true!"

"I know. I-"

"Let's move along!" Alberta hurried us off the plane, eager to be on the ground again I guess. We were greeted by some uptight guardians dressed in fancy suits, who told us where to go.

We had to share rooms, since there were so many people coming for the ball. Naturally, I was with Lissa.

"I want to see you all in the ballroom at 5:00 sharp!" Alberta barked and Stan glared at me.

"Don't be late."

"Don't worry about me, old man." I turned on my heels and made my way to the room, with Lissa right behind me.

"Don't get into trouble Rose."

"Me? Trouble? Never!" She unlocked the room and I sighed. "No one told me the freaking thing was _tonight_!"

I plopped down on the huge bed. It was a nice room, but apparently, we didn't have much time to spend in it.

"Yea, sorry about that. But we have to get ready. Its three o'clock now."

"Great." I mumbled, heading into the bathroom to change.

It was quarter to five now, and we were almost ready to go. Our hair was done, dresses on, makeup all set…the only issue was my shoes.

"I am not wearing these." I dangled the shoes in the air, looking at them with disgust.

"Rose, come on. Its not a big deal."

"Yes, it is. And I am not wearing them." I'd already put up with all the other stuff. Gorgeous dress? Sure. Designer makeup? Ok. Three inch stilettos? I don't think so.

"Rose, do you have other dress shoes?" I started to speak, but she but me off. "No, you don't. So just wear them please."

"Ok, fine. You win again."

"Thanks Rose."

"Your welcome. I guess this is ok. It gives me an excuse not to dance with Adrian." She shook her head.

"Let's go. We only have ten minutes, and I want to find the guys first." I didn't object, mostly because Adrian was already with the queen. Lissa's phone buzzed.

"Christian?" I guessed. She smiled.

"Yea, they're in the front foyer." I snickered.

"The front foyer?"

"That's what it's called, Rose."

"Whatever." We snaked our way around the huge main building, and finally found them. Eddie, Christian and Dimitri were standing off to the side, just talking. I was surprised Dimitri was able to sneak off.

"Hey guys, you sure clean up nice." They all rolled their eyes.

"Thanks Rose." Eddie said sarcastically. "I wish I didn't have to wear this stupid suit though."

"I think you look nice." Mia rushed up to us. "Sorry I'm late."

"Well then, let's go." Christian took Lissa's hand and we made our way to the ballroom. Oh goody.

"You look beautiful, my Roza." Dimitri whispered into my ear.

"Thanks Comrade, you're looking pretty handsome yourself." We arrived at the ballroom with three minutes to spare. Two more stern guardians in tuxes opened the massive doors when we approached.

The room was huge, decorated with everything fancy you could imagine. Everything sparkled and hundreds of people in fancy clothes twirled around in sync. There was a buzz of laughter and conversation that blended perfectly with the music filling the air.

"Wow." I stared dumbly at the perfect scene in front of me. Dimitri laughed.

"What did you expect? It's the queen's royal ball." Another song started up, and he held out his hand. "May I have this dance?" His eyes sparkled.

"I might as well, before these stupid shoes start to _really_ hurt." I took his hand and we spun gracefully into the crowd. "I have to warn you, I'm not much of a dancer."

"Don't worry." He winked and lifted me off the ground, so my feet were barely touching and I was spared of any effort.

"This could work." I smiled.

Dancing with Dimitri was extremely fun. We just twirled around, laughing and smiling. Twice he dipped me, giving me a quick kiss before pulling me back up. I smirked.

"I could do this all night." Dimitri chuckled.

"Me too. But I have to work most of the time."

"At a royal ball? That's ridiculous."

"Not really. With so many people here, and most of them royals, it's just a matter of time." We both knew it was a serious situation, but humor lighted his voice as he said it.

"What idiot would attack the queen's royal ball? There's like, thousands of guardians here." The song ended much too quickly, and Dimitri set me down.

"I'll see you later, my Roza." He kissed the top of my head, and slipped into the back of the room. Great. Now he was gone, and it was only a matter of time before -

"Little dhampir! Don't you look stunning." Oh lord. At least he didn't smell like smoke and vodka.

"What, no cigarette?" I teased. He frowned.

"No smoking in here. But we could go somewhere else." He grinned, and I sighed.

"Look, Ivashkov. I'm starving. I'm wearing three inch freaking stilettos. So if I were you, I wouldn't mess with me."

"Hey! There's food right over there! And you really do look amazing." I rolled my eyes.

"I'm going to find Lissa."

"I'll meet you by the food."

"Don't wait up." I clomped my way through the crowds until I found them.

"Lissa! I'm going to get some food, you coming?"

"Sure." She turned to Christian "You hungry?"

"Starving. Lets go."

After we finished eating, I tried to get away from Adrian without much success.

"Hey little dhampir, care to dance?"

"No, I do not care to dance." I turned to go but he blocked my path.

"Come on! Just one song!" He pleaded. His eyes grew soft, definitely not kidding, and I almost felt bad. Almost.

"No." I started to walk away, and he sighed.

"Wait." I stopped. I actually stopped and turned around, hands on my hips.

"What could you possibly want?"

"Rose Hathaway, may I have the honor?" He held his hand out to me.

"Did you really think rephrasing it and making it more polite would get a yes?"

"Well, I was kind of hoping." I rolled my eyes.

"No, Adrian. I can barely walk in these shoes." I pointed at my feet.

"Maybe later then."

"Have I ever told you you're an idiot?"

"You usually use the word 'moron', but yes, twice on this trip alone in fact."

"You're an idiot." I turned and walked away, but not before I heard him call:

"That's three!"

About twenty minutes later I finally gave in to Adrian's pestering. The queen hadn't arrived yet, which was weird, so I figured one dance with him wouldn't hurt. Well, not me that is.

"One song, and then you shut up. Agreed?" I said sternly, and he grinned.

"Agreed." He took my hand, and we started to dance. "Hmm this is quite nice. Do you think we could make it -"

"One. Song."

"Ok, and ouch!" He glanced down. "Stop stepping on my feet!"

"Do you want to stop dancing?"

"Never. Ah!" I stomped down on his foot. Turns out I liked these heels better than I'd thought. I kept stepping.

Once he tried to dip me. I slapped him.

"What was that for!"

"You're not allowed to do that."

"But we're dancing." I shrugged. The song was almost over, and I was enjoying causing him pain.

"Tough luck." He smiled unexpectedly.

"You know what? This is why I love you Rose Hathaway."

"Wonderful." I grumbled, stepping on his foot again. He grimaced.

"Although I do wish you would stop doing that."

"Hey, no one said I was a good dancer." The final chords of the song sounded, and I stepped back.

"Thanks Rose." He beamed and I smirked.

"I hope you had fun. That's the last time I'm _ever_ getting that close to you." He chuckled and turned to walk away. In a flash, I stuck the heel of my shoe out and sent him tumbling into some random lady.

"What is your problem?!" The lady shoved him off.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry, are you ok?" She just stomped away. I however, was very close to falling onto the floor laughing.

"Rose…"He growled.

"You have no proof!" I sang, skipping away into the crowd. I almost ran into Lissa.

"Oh no." Lissa looked at me wearily. "Rose, what did you do?"

"What is with you people?! You just automatically _assume _-"

"Rose! What am I going to do with you?" Dimitri was right behind me. Damnit.

"Hey, you're off guard duty!"

"I saw you trip Adrian."

"He had it coming!"

"Oh Rose." Lissa shook her head, then turned to Dimitri. "Have you seen the queen anywhere?"

"No. That's what we're trying to figure -"

He was cut off by a bloodcurdling scream from across the room.

"Impossible." He breathed, and my jaw dropped.

**A/N Ooh! What's going on? Haha anyway... **

**Any favorite parts or lines? Reviews keep me writing(;**


	4. Dance Disaster

**A/N This is the fist fight scene! Excited? I know I am. Haha anyway, Hope you enjoy it! **

**Well, maybe not the ending…**

**RPOV:**

I couldn't tell who screamed. I couldn't tell if the queen was here or not. But what I could tell, was this. Hundreds of strigoi had just burst through the doors, and the whole room was thrown into a panicked frenzy.

"Get the royals! Protect the Moroi!"

"Save yourselves!"

"Hurry! Hurry!"

"Oh my god!

"Help!"

"Rose!" I snapped back to attention, turning to see Dimitri take down a strigoi.

"Get Lissa!" He screamed over the noise. Like I needed to be _told. _I quickly dragged Lissa, as well as Christian, off to safety, then pulled my stake out of my thigh strap.

"Rose!" Christian grabbed my arm. "I can help." I hesitated, then shook my head.

"Stay here. Protect Lissa." I tore the end off my dress, running full speed into the ballroom.

I turned into a madman. Or, mad_woman_, as it were. I took a strigoi by surprise, fighting and staking her before she could even really fight back. Another strigoi grabbed my arm, and I twisted out of his grip. He got in a few lucky shots, but I drove the stake into his heart with such precision and speed I nearly surprised myself.

"St. Vladimir's guardians, take the east wing!" The guardian in charge was splitting us up as the strigoi spread out.

"Rose!" Dimitri grabbed my hand and we ran to the east wing together.

"I love you Dimitri!"

"I love you too Rose!"

"Oh give me a break." Eddie, trying to lighten the mood, ran beside me.

"Eddie!" I yelled. Thank god.

"Focus, Rose." We sprung though the doors, where other guardians were already there. Already battling. There were so many here, the strigoi didn't stand a chance.

I looked around. Some guy was struggling with the kill. I jumped in, surprising them both, and jammed the stake into his chest. The guardian was clearly less experienced.

"Thanks!" He breathed.

"Keep fighting moron!" I screamed, lunging back into the action. I took down three more strigoi, one of them with Eddie's help, and soon, they were all laying on the floor. Dead.

"Only two casualties. Good work." Someone of high authority praised. "I'll check if they need our help elsewhere."

Two casualties. I knew Eddie was alive. He was standing right there next to me, panting like everyone else. My heart pounded for a moment, searching…

"Roza!" I whirled around, jumping into Dimitri's arms.

"Oh god, We're safe…"

"Look alive everyone! They need backup in the main hall!"

"Damnit." We all started running.

The scene in there was only a little worse then the wing, however. It looked like all the moroi were out of harms way at this point, and they just needed a little help finishing up.

"Go!" someone screeched, and we ran in. It was like a wall of fury, death, and fancy clothes coming at them all at once. Yea, we're pretty badass.

We started taking down strigoi left and right, making it look easy. I turned around after staking another one, and everything started going in slow motion.

A strigoi nailed me right in the leg. I hit the floor and all I saw was Dimitri's face. Twisted with rage, he was beating the shit out of this guy. He should have known: Never mess with a really ripped, really tall, really pissed off Russian guy*.Needless to say, he was very dead, very quickly.

"Rose, are you alright?" Dimitri helped me up and I panicked.

"We have to fight. We have to…" I shook my head to clear it.

"They're retreating!" Someone yelled. I looked around. The hell they were!

We had done it. We had beaten them. It had been a way faster battle than I thought. But it wasn't really over. Everyone knew that.

I looked up to see the last of the strigoi across the room. They were trying to dodge the guardians and escape. Most failed. But a few slipped out the window.

"Get him! That one there! He's got someone!" My head snapped up.

"NO!" I screamed.

We all turned to look, as the face of Adrian Ivashkov disappeared out the window, and out of sight.

**A/N Poor Adrian! Don't worry though, he's still alive…for now anyway… **

**Again, any favorite lines or scenes? Reviews keep the story going!**

***This line was based on a quote from Vampire Academy. I think it's the first one on my profile. Anyway, I just had to use it(; **


	5. Suicidal Saviors

**A/N Speak up! Post your thoughts about the chapter by clicking Review ;) **

"Adrian!" I screeched. It took me a minute to realize how pathetic I looked. Not that it mattered. I was on my knees, my dress dirty and torn.

"Rose!" Lissa ran up to me. The moroi were being let back out, now that the threat was gone...for now. Guardians were cleaning up the mess. She helped me up.

"They took him. They took Adrian." I suddenly felt so tired...

"Oh!" Lissa covered her mouth with one dainty hand, and a tear slid down her cheek. I hugged her.

"Oh Lissa! I wish...I wish I had been nicer..." she nodded.

"Its ok, Rose…"

"We have to rescue him. Queen's orders." I heard a nearby guardian talking. I straightened up.

"Is she crazy?" Yes, she is, I thought. But she was right. He wasn't dead. Yet... "We already have someone trailing them. It'll be the actual rescue that's impossible." He explained. Well then, what are we waiting for?!

"We'll need guardians. Lots of them." The other guy warned.

"Hurry, then! Get some people together." He barked. I looked over to see that others were listening in also.

"Dimitri! Eddie! You in?" I turned, all business now.

"Rose...you can't..." Lissa frowned.

"I am." I said firmly. As annoying as Adrian was, he was our friend. I just couldn't trust someone else to get him back safely.

"Fine. " Eddie stepped forward. Dimitri nodded, pulling me into a hug.

"Lets go." He walked toward the guy who was talking earlier.

"Can I help you?" The guardian looked pretty frazzled. Perfect. I stepped in.

"We're coming to help rescue Adrian." I stated. Dimitri shook his head.

"Look, -" the guy started.

"No, you look _mister_. I know you need as many people as possible on this. We're coming, so deal." He opened his mouth to protest, and I raised my eyebrows.

"Fine. Go change and meet back here in 30 minutes." I wanted to protest, but we had lost enough time already. Lissa stopped me.

"Rose! I don't...you can't..." She sighed. "Please be careful."

"Careful is my middle name." I ran up the stairs to change.

All to soon we were gathered in the ballroom again. I was wearing all black, and was pleased to have been issued a proper guardian outfit by Dimitri. I was ready.

We piled into ten huge black SUVs. I kept tapping my foot as we waited to get going.

"Relax Rose." Dimitri squeezed my hand. I snorted.

"That's like telling water to be dry." I grumbled. He half smirked.

Finally we started to go. It was Eddie, Dimitri and I in the backseat. We had been driving for about five minutes before Alberta, who somehow got shotgun, spoke.

"Where was the queen?" We were all silent as one of the royal guardians answered.

"She was running a little late. We were just about to escort her out when the strigoi attacked." he shook his head. "Never went to her own royal ball."

"What if he's dead." I whispered. Everyone not driving turned to stare at me. "Take a chill pill Rose." Eddie looked at me like I was going crazy. Maybe that was true. I was curled up in Dimitri's lap, practically shaking.

"What if we're too late?"

"Rose."

"God when are we gonna get there!" I shouted.

"Rose!" Everyone yelled simultaneously.

"Rose, I swear to god. If you don't calm down, I'm telling Adrian what a wreck you were." Dimitri threatened.

"You'd never hear the end of that." We all jumped.

"Christian?! What the hell?!"

"Good god, how did we not notice that?" The guardian breathed. Christian shrugged.

"I'm here to - holy shit Rose! Put it away!" I was surprised to see that I'd instinctively pulled out my stake and had it aimed at his heart.

"Sorry Christian. But what the hell are you doing here?!"

"I'm here to help." He shrugged again. "I _can_ help you guys you know. And I figure if I help rescue her nephew, the queen will somehow…I don't know, approve of me more? Or something?"

"We appreciate your valiant intentions, Mr. Hero. But you do realize that you've left Lissa at the royal palace, _alone,_ while two of the people she loves most in her life are off risking their lives to save yet another person she cares about, right?"

"I know." There was sadness in his voice. "She's probably a wreck. But I told Mia to take care of her." He said. As if that was some sort of consolidation.

"Oh, halleluiah!" I threw up my hands in exasperation.

"Rose! Calm. Down!" Eddie yelled. I buried my face in my hands.

"Jeez, Rose. Ever consider therapy?"

"Shut up Christian!"

"We're almost there." I got a chill down my spine. All sorts of 'what ifs' buzzed around my brain. I tried to push them out.

"Roza." Dimitri said gently, cradling my head in his hands. "Breathe. You need to focus."

"Ok, ok." I took a deep breath, and a wave of nausea rolled over me. I had almost forgotten about that. That feeling I got when there was a strigoi nearby.

"We're here." I looked up at the huge building that rose in front of us.

"That thing's a fucking castle!"

"Suicide mission." Eddie muttered.

**A/N Oooohh. This is getting intense. **

**Favorite parts? Thoughts? Witty comments? Post them! You know what they say: Lots of reviews bring faster updates. Or something like that.**

**Ha ha ha. Like the humor attempt? Yea, ok, just click review already. **


	6. Rescue Regrets

**A/N Ok, I know the few of you who were following this probably forgot about it. I mean, I haven't written anything in months! I'm sorry, and if any of you still have interest, you must hate me (: But I'm going to try to keep this going, so if you have any ideas, suggestions or just comments, message me or just review. It means a lot, and keeps the chapters coming! **

**Please read the last chapter, just to refresh your memory! (;**

RPOV:

I couldn't let my mind agree with what Eddie had said. Reality would just crush me and make me useless.

"Roza," Dimitri whispered, squeezing my hand. "Relax. Focus on what you've been taught."

I nodded mutely, pushing aside the nausea that was half from the strigoi, half from just looking at the building we were about to head into.

"Wow." Christian actually looked kind of scared.

"Oh, now he's having second thoughts about being here." I huffed.

"I'm not having second thoughts! Don't I get to be a little intimidated like everyone else?"

"_Everyone else _here is a guardian, or at least a dhampir!" Ok that was a low blow.

"You know I can help Rose!"

"Yea, well I'm still just a little pissed you left Lissa all -"

"Rose! Stop harassing Christian and get over here!" The head guardian - whose name was Hans - barked at me and Dimitri pulled me gently over to where everyone was gathering.

"Calm down, Rose." He whispered again.

"Sorry, I guess I'm a little keyed up."

"More than a little." Christian snorted. I shot him a glare and he held up his hands.

"In any case," Dimitri continued, "You need to focus on the task at hand." I straightened up when the Hans started talking again.

We were going to move in using four waves. The first wave would head in as a frontal attack and the second would follow with the first rescue party. Third would repeat the first wave only on the other side and fourth would contain the backup rescue party. The few people left would standby as backup, and the second wave would have more people since we needed to protect Christian. The people in the first rescue party sort of surprised me, but I should have figured it. A bunch of royal guards, Alberta, Dimitri, and me.

"I believe the rescue will go much smoother if people Adrian recognize are present." Hans said gruffly, then proceeding to get us into formation. "Ready? And…now!"

I held my breath as the first round of guardians went swiftly and silently into the building from all angles.

Sounds of fighting suddenly erupted from inside, and I tensed. The guard in charge of our wave stood ready and calculating.

"Comrade…"

"Roza." He pulled me to him, staring me down with those amazing eyes before giving me a long, sweet kiss. "We need to focus now, ok?" I nodded.

"Everyone ready?" The guard got us into position, counting us off before sending us around the building. "Go in through windows! All sides people! Backup will be surrounding the building, so create some sort of signal if you find him! Let's move!"

I scaled the siding with Dimitri close behind, slipping expertly through a window. My mind was geared into attack at this point, and I was working on auto pilot.

We snaked through the halls, and a strong wave of nausea hit me jus before the strigoi appeared. Overcome with bloodlust and rage, I took down two, barely glancing around before plunging forward.

I quickly lost count of how many strigoi I got. My brain was sharp and adrenaline rushed through me. All I knew was that if I saw a strigoi I needed to kill it. There was a cluster up ahead that we took down with a few casualties. The halls were huge and filled with disgusting undead creatures that would decide who lived and who died tonight.

Between driving my stake through many hearts, and doing everything I can to stay alive, I had totally forgotten about Christian. That is, until the hallway lit up.

"Holy shit Christian! Be careful!" I screamed.

"Wow. And she's even snippy in battle!"

"Shut up you two!" Eddie looked like he wanted to smack us both. I had no doubt he would, if he wasn't being a badass at the moment. I nodded and staked a small, female strigoi who had appeared out of nowhere and was distracted by Christians fire. I guess it wasn't a waste, having him here.

The hallway was congested with more and more vampires, more and more death. We were suffering. But we were also winning.

"Rose! Christian! Eddie!" Dimitri shouted, gesturing to an opening. I followed the beautiful sound of his voice.

All of a sudden, we were in a quiet, smoke filled room, away from all the fighting. A figure was slumped in the corner, which we rushed over to.

Familiar green eyes gazed lazily up at me, and the slipped something out of his mouth.

"Hey little dhampirrrrr" He slurred, blinking. My jaw dropped.

"Adrian!" Dimitri, Alberta, Eddie and Christian looked around wearily.

"We need to get him out of here."

"Nah, nah." He waved his hand drunkenly. "I'm aaaaallll gooodd heree…"

"Adrian!" I snatched a joint out of his mouth. "What the hell are you smoking?"

"Hmmmm?" He answered groggily. Shit.

"Is the window clear?" Alberta glanced around. She and Dimitri were on guard at the door. Eddie rushed over.

"Yeah."

"Hey fire boy." I turned to Christian. "Send a signal!" He did just that.

"There's people down there!" I rolled my eyes.

"Well, let's see Christian. Good people? Or bad people?" He glared.

"Good."

"Well, let's get him out of here! Christian, grab his feet."

"Why do I always get the feet?"

"This is not the time!" I snapped. "On the count of three, ready? One, two…three!" Eddie, Christian, and I launched Adrian out the window, watching him land safely among the guardians below.

"Alright, who's next?"

"Christian." Eddie and I said un unison, and without any further notice pushed the fire boy out. Eddie jumped next, landing with a soft thud.

"Dimitri!"

"Damnit Rose, don't hesitate, just go!" With that, I leapt through the frame, flying for a long moment before hitting the ground. There was a loud thud immediately behind me and I whipped around with my stake in my hand. Out of pure instinct.

"Roza, it's me." I sighed, relieved. Quickly, however, I began to panic once again.

"Where's Alberta?" I shrieked. Dimitri whipped around, then muttered something in Russian.

"She's still in there."

"Why?" But I knew why. It was only a matter of time before the strigoi broke through. "Dimitri! She's outnumbered!"

"There's not much we can do, Rose. Alberta's a great fighter. Plus, she's not alone in there, ok." I couldn't figure out who he was trying to calm down more, himself or me. "She'll be fine."

We both knew it was a lie. Yes, Adrian was safe. But with Alberta still inside, I felt far from relieved.

**A/N Tell me what you think! Any ideas or suggestions? I'm not quite sure how to keep it going after this, so any feedback is really helpful! I'll try to update more often, but reviews are my main motivator, so keep them coming! Thanks!**


	7. Bickering Bodyguards

**A/N Hopefully I haven't lost you all completely! (: Just hang in there a little longer. Enjoy!**

RPOV:

"Belikov! Hathaway! Castile!" The head guard sprinted over to us. "Get him back to the palace. Take as many guardians as you can with you. We'll try to maneuver a safe retreat. Good work everyone."

Dimitri nodded quickly and pulled me away before I could do or say anything stupid.

"You know me too well." I muttered.

"Wait up you guys!" Christian and Eddie stumbled behind us, practically dragging Adrian with them.

"God Adrian, what have you been eating?" Christian groaned, and Eddie shot me a look.

"You owe me for this. Big time."

"Oh please, Eddie. Do you know how many favors you owe me?"

"…None?" He grimaced hopefully.

"You wish, Castile."

We hopped into the car. Two guardians were already in the front seat, so Eddie, Dimitri and I slid into the middle. We threw Adrian into the back and strapped a seat belt around him.

"Nope, nope, nope." Christian stood outside the door, staring at the only empty seat left.

"Christian, get in."

"Nope."

"Christian…" I warned.

"Aw, come on you guys, I had to carry his feet the whole way!"

"Christian Ozera, get your ass in this car, _now_!"

"Ugh!" He jumped in and slammed the door. "You all owe me a million favors. Even you two!" He pointed accusingly at the two guardians in the front. They shot us a confused look.

"Sorry, he's unstable."

"Oh ha ha Rose." Christian rolled his eyes and scooted farther away from Adrian, who was smiling weirdly at him.

"I loooveee youuu Chrisssstiannnn…" He flopped onto Christians shoulder.

"Ugh! Get off me! You smell disgusting!"

"Give him a break; he was just kidnapped by strigoi."

"Yeah, well, he didn't look so _distressed_ to me."

"That's enough." Dimitri silenced us momentarily. A few minutes went by, and I twisted around in my seat to whisper.

"Christian, you should stop complaining. No one asked _you_ to come."

"Did I or did I not help you out in there?" He hissed back.

"All I'm -"

"Did I or did I not carry this royal sack of filth to the car?"

"Look! All I'm saying is that – Ow Ow Ow!" Dimitri cut me off, grabbing hold of my ear.

"Ow! Eddie! What the hell! Ah!" Eddie had done the same to Christian, apparently.

"Would you two shut up? God, you're like children!"

"We're here!" One of the other guardians said hurriedly, and Christian practically dove out the door.

"Cool down fire boy; quit being such a drama queen."

"Oh, I'm sorry Rose, did you have to spend the car ride with the royal bum you dragged out of a life threatening situation flopping all over you?"

"Calm your PMS kid, we're all tired."

"If you don't stop bickering, I swear to god I'm going to hit you both so hard we'll be dragging _you_ across the lawn." Eddie snapped.

We all fell silent, trudging exhaustedly toward the palace. We had saved Adrian's life.

So why was I not relieved?

**A/N Thanks for sticking with me everyone! I promise I'll try to update more often!**


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